Anatomy of medical terms Anatomy of a Medical Term Many medical terms are composed of word part combinations. Recognizing these word parts and their meanings.

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Presentation on theme: "Anatomy of medical terms Anatomy of a Medical Term Many medical terms are composed of word part combinations. Recognizing these word parts and their meanings."— Presentation transcript:

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Anatomy of medical terms Anatomy of a Medical Term Many medical terms are composed of word part combinations. Recognizing these word parts and their meanings simplifies learning medical terminology. These word parts are as follows: ■ prefix: word part found at the beginning of a word. Usually indicates number, location, time, or status. ■ root: word part that gives the essential meaning of the word. ■ combining vowel: single vowel, usually an o, that is added to the end of a root to make the word easier to pronounce. ■ combining form: combination of the root and combining vowel. ■ suffix: word part found at the end of a word. Usually indicates procedure, condition, disease, or disorder.

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The combining form The combining form is a word root plus a combining vowel. Combining forms usually describe a part of the body. New words are created when combining forms are added to prefi xes, other combining forms, and suffixes. For example, the term panleukopenia is composed of the following word parts: ■ pan- (pahn), a prefix meaning all ■ leuk/o (loo-kō), a combining form meaning white ■ -penia (pē-nē-ah), a suffix meaning deficiency or reduction in number Panleukopenia is a deficiency of all types of white blood cells.

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suffixes Suffixes are attached to the end of a word part to modify its meaning. For example, the combining form gastr/o means stomach and can be modified using various suffixes. ■ The suffix -tomy means cutting into or incision. Gastrotomy is incision into the stomach. ■ The suffix -stomy means a surgically created opening. Gastrostomy is a surgically created opening between the stomach and the body surface. ■ The suffix -ectomy means surgical removal or excision. Gastrectomy is surgical removal of the stomach.

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Suffixes “Pertaining To” Suffixes ■ -ac (ahck), as in cardiac (pertaining to the heart). ■ -al (ahl), as in renal (pertaining to the kidney). ■ -an (ahn), as in ovarian (pertaining to the ovary). ■ -ar (ahr), as in lumbar (pertaining to the loin, lower back). ■ -ary (ahr-ē), as in alimentary (pertaining to the gastrointestinal tract). ■ -eal (ē-ahl), as in laryngeal (pertaining to the larynx). ■ -ic (ihck), as in enteric (pertaining to the intestines). ■ -ine (ihn), as in uterine (pertaining to the uterus). ■ -ous (uhs), as in cutaneous (pertaining to the skin). ■ -tic (tihck), as in nephrotic (pertaining to the kidneys).

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Suffixes Surgical Suffixes ■ -ectomy (ehck-tō-mē) = surgical removal, as in mastectomy, surgical removal of the breast or mammary glands. ■ -pexy (pehck-sē) = suture to stabilize, as in gastropexy, surgically stabilizing the stomach to the abdominal wall. ■ -plasty (plahs-tē) = surgical repair, as in rhinoplasty, surgical repair of the nose. ■ -stomy (stō-mē) = surgically created opening, as in colostomy, a surgically created opening between the colon and body surface. ■ -tomy (tō-mē) = cutting into, as in laparotomy, an incision into the abdomen.

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Suffixes Procedural Suffi xes ■ -centesis (sehn-tē-sihs) = surgical puncture to remove fluid or gas (for diagnosis or for treatment to remove excess fluid or gas), as in cystocentesis, a surgical puncture of the urinary bladder with a needle to remove fluid (urine). ■ -gram (grahm) = record of, as in electrocardiogram, the electrocardiographic hard copy record. ■ -graph (grahf) = instrument that records (or used as a record), as in electrocardiograph, the machine that records the electrical activity of the heart. ■ -graphy (grahf-ē) = procedure that records, as in electrocardiography, the procedure used to record the electrical activity of the heart. ■ -lysis (lī-sihs) = separation or breakdown, as in urinalysis, separation of the urine into its constituents. ■ -scope (skōp) = instrument to visually examine, as in endoscope, an instrument used to visually examine inside the body. ■ -scopy (skōp-ē) = procedure to visually examine, as in endoscopy, the procedure of visually examining insidethe body. ■ -therapy (thehr-ah-pē) = treatment, as in chemotherapy, treatment with chemical substances or drugs.

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Suffixes Double R Suffixes ■ -rrhagia or -rrhage (rā-jē-ah or rihdj) = bursting forth, as in hemorrhage, bursting forth of blood from the vessels. ■ -rrhaphy (rahf-ē) = to suture, as in enterorrhaphy, suturing of the intestines. ■ -rrhea (rē-ah) = flow, discharge, as in diarrhea, complete discharge of the bowels. ■ -rrhexis (rehck-sihs) = rupture, as in myorrhexis, rupture of the muscle.

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Conditional and Structural Suffixes ■ -algia and -dynia (ahl-jē-ah and dihn-ē-ah) = pain, as in arthralgia and arthrodynia, or joint pain. ■ -itis (ī-tihs) = inflammation, as in hepatitis, inflammation of the liver. ■ -malacia (mah-lā-shē-ah) = abnormal softening, as in osteomalacia, abnormal softening of bone. ■ -megaly (mehg-ah-lē) = enlargement, as in cardiomegaly, enlargement of the heart.

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Conditional and Structural Suffixes ■ -osis (ō-sihs) = abnormal condition, as in cardiosis, an abnormal condition of the heart. ■ -pathy (pahth-ē) = disease, as in enteropathy, a disease of the small intestine. ■ -sclerosis (skleh-rō-sihs) = abnormal hardening, as in arteriosclerosis, abnormal hardening of the arteries. ■ -um (uhm) = structure, as in pericardium, the structure surrounding the heart.

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Suffixes Suffixes may change a word’s part of speech. Different suffixes may change the word from a noun (naming people, places, or things) to an adjective (descriptor). ■ Cyanosis is a noun meaning condition of blue discoloration, whereas cyanotic is an adjective meaning pertaining to blue discoloration. ■ Anemia is a noun meaning a blood condition of deficient red blood cells and/or hemoglobin, whereas anemic is an adjective meaning pertaining to a blood condition of deficient red blood cells and/or hemoglobin.

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Suffixes ■ Mucus is a noun meaning a slimelike substance that is composed of glandular secretion, salts, cells, and leukocytes, whereas mucous is an adjective meaning pertaining to mucus. ■ Ilium is a noun meaning a part of the hip, whereas iliac is an adjective meaning pertaining to the hip. ■ Condyle is a noun meaning a rounded projection on a bone, whereas condylar is an adjective meaning pertaining to a rounded projection on a bone. ■ Carpus is a noun meaning the joint between the radius and ulna and metacarpal bones, whereas carpal is an adjective meaning pertaining to the joint between the radius and ulna and metacarpal bones.

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12. The prefix pre- means a. after b. around c. before d. during 13. Which suffix may be part of the term meaning a procedure to visually examine? a. -lysis b. -scopy c. -rrhexis d. -scope 14. Which type of word part is always placed at the end of a term? a. combining form b. prefix c. suffix d. root

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Spell Check Cross out any misspelled words in the following sentences and replace them with the proper spelling. 1. Thick mucous was evident in the cat with upper respiratory disease. __________________________________ 2. Urine was collected via cistocentesis so that the urinanalysis could be performed to determine whether the dog had a urinary tract infection. ____________________________________________________________ ________ 3. The horse’s diarhea was caused by intestinal parasites. ____________________________________________ 4. The cutaneus lesion was not cancerous. ____________________________________________________ 5. A local anestetic was used so that the surgery could be performed on the cow. _____________________________